Local Roundup -- Published Jan. 19, 2013

Starting four sophomores can be a recipe for an abundance of mistakes, but the youthful Kimball girls basketball team played like veterans on Friday in an important Valley Oak League win at Lathrop High.

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By The Record

recordnet.com

By The Record

Posted Jan. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By The Record
Posted Jan. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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Starting four sophomores can be a recipe for an abundance of mistakes, but the youthful Kimball girls basketball team played like veterans on Friday in an important Valley Oak League win at Lathrop High.

The Jaguars beat the Spartans 54-46 by overcoming a three-point halftime deficit with solid defense in the second half. Trailing 31-28 at the break, the Jaguars (13-6, 4-2 VOL) didn't allow a Lathrop (7-11, 2-4) field goal in the third quarter and soon found themselves leading 40-35 with one period to go.

Lathrop's Jazlyn Simon made a layup with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining to cut Kimball's lead to 50-44, but the Jaguars sealed the game by converting 4 of 6 free throws over the final minute. Noni Kuumba and Sarah Nunes each led Kimball with 13 points. Kuumba also had five blocks and five rebounds.

Simon and Janet Visaya each had 14 points for the Spartans, who coach Edward Fang said once again lost due to turnovers (24) and poor free-throw shooting.

"Once again that came back to haunt us," said Fang, whose team was 12 of 28 from the line. "We need to keep our composure when things don't go our way. A couple of times we had some defensive breakdowns, and we settled for shots we didn't want to take."

Despite its young lineup, the Jaguars committed just 14 turnovers and didn't give up, despite trailing 30-21 late in the second quarter.

At Linden, Brianna McGinness scored 24 points to lead the Redskins (13-5, 6-1 Mother Lode League). Kendra Champion scored 10 points and had four rebounds for the Lions (3-17, 1-7).

At Tracy, Edison trimmed a 10-point halftime deficit to four points midway through the third period before three 3-pointers ignited an 18-6 run for host West on the way to a Tri-City Athletic League win at Steve Thornton Gymnasium.

"We had some really good passing to set up a lot of the 3-pointers," Wolf Pack coach Derek Sprecksel said of his team's nine 3-pointers.

"We had some really good reads by the guards to find guys and also guys were getting set and getting their hands ready and spacing the floor to get those opportunities."

After the Vikings (8-13, 2-2 TCAL) closed to within 41-37, Michael Young made his first of back-to-back 3-pointers, then assisted Hayden Ordone on a 3-pointer and the Wolf Pack (15-6, 2-2) never looked back.

Young led all scorers with 23 points and had 12 rebounds.

West won the battle of the boards 36-23.

Joshua Johnson led Edison with 20 points followed by Carlnelious McGee with 13 points and Jimmy Taylor with 10.

At Lincoln, Joseph Harrison scored 16 points and Julio Muao had 12 for the Trojans (17-3, 4-0 SJAA). Isaiah Gaines and Colizel Lewis each scored 19 to lead the Yellowjackets (8-13, 0-4).

At Lodi, Brandon Michellucci played in his second game this season due to an injury and led the Flames (15-6, 4-0 SJAA) with 19 points in a tight game. Dwayne Lee scored a game-high 22 points for the Bruins (10-11, 2-2).

At Modesto, Adam Gotelli scored 15 points and had six assists and four rebounds, and John and David Lerma each scored 14 points for the Eagles (17-3, 3-0 CCAA), who won their 15th game in a row. Andrew Miller scored seven points to lead the Lions (5-9, 0-3).

At Stockton, Jacob Araya had a season-high 35 points to carry the Eagles (9-6, 5-0 Mountain Valley League) past the Dragons (6-7, 5-1), who were led by Jordan Thornton's 26 points.

At Rocklin, the Mustangs (10-7, 3-1 Big 8 Conference) fell out of a tie for first place with Santa Rosa with a loss to the Wolverines (12-5, 3-1). Elijah Lewis scored 22 points and Alex Simmons had 21 for Delta. Jordan Ngatai scored a game-high 23 points for Sierra.

At Malibu, the Tigers lost 25-19, 25-19, 25-15. Adam Troy had eight kills and seven digs, and Taylor Hughes had seven kills. Pacific is 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Waves (2-1, 1-1) were led by Kyle Gerrans and Maurice Torres with 11 kills each. Pacific plays at 2 p.m. Sunday at USC.